SEARCY, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas Lady Mulerider Volleyball team suffered a straight sets defeat (16-25, 16-25, 14-25) on Tuesday night at Harding as the Great American Conference's second-best team used an efficient offensive attack to pick up its seventh-straight win.
 
SAU (8-20, 1-12 GAC) saw six players register at least three kills led by Alexia Southern's team-high seven kills. Alli O'Banion followed with six kills and she is now just 18 kills from 1,000 for her career with three regular season games remaining.
 
Seven Powers and Bailey Cagle each added five kills with Cagle's coming at a team-best .385 attack percentage among players with ten or more attempts. Alexa Bass recorded her twelfth double-double of the season with team-highs in assists (19) and digs (12). Whitney Brown followed Bass with ten digs.
 
Harding (24-3, 12-1 GAC) used an 8-1 run midway through the opening set to gain the momentum for the remainder of the match. That run followed a 13-13 set one score and the Lady Bisons would also use a 4-1 run to close out the first frame in which they hit .484 with 17 kills. In set two, Harding again relied on a key run as 7-1 run developed out of an 18-15 lead to claim a two set lead in the match.
 
The Lady Bisons led by eight, 16-8, before kills from Powers, Lauren Smith, and O'Banion pulled SAU to within five at 16-11. The lead would be cut to four following a Zoe Hardin kill as Southern collected back-to-back kills to pull the Lady Muleriders to 17-13.
 
Harding saved its biggest run of the night to close out the match as it matched its 8-1 run in the first set with an 8-1 surge that concluded the third set and the match.
 
Southern Arkansas returns to action on Thursday in Russellville, Arkansas, for a matchup with GAC-leading and AVCA No. 10 Arkansas Tech. The Golden Suns own a 29-0 record overall and a perfect 13-0 mark in league play.